LP Quality of Life for Seniors

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Quality of life for seniors Beyond inspiration: the irreverent and rare Iris Apfel

By Hilary Klassen

Seldom has 96 looked as good as it does on Iris Apfel! This fashion icon’s bold sense of style reflects an equally bold persona that has retained a youthful and vibrant individuality.

Apfel has been called a ‘geriatric starlet’ and has managed to navigate the later decades without morphing into some universally identifiable and predictable expression of what it means to be a senior citizen.

Apfel gained style icon status with the 2005 exhibition, “Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel” hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. It was her personal collection of vintage and designer fashion.

She is known for her creativity and open-mindedness, and says getting dressed is a creative act.

It was for qualities like these that she was recently honoured at the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (CAFA) gala in Toronto. Apfel was chosen as the first recipient of the International Style Icon Award, a new CAFA award category that recognizes an individual whose unique personality and style has commanded the attention of the global fashion industry.

“Iris is one of the most beloved individuals in the fashion industry,” says Vicky Mil-

ner, President of CAFA. “In addition to her one-of-a-kind style, it is her emphasis on individuality, work ethic and moving beyond the status quo that makes her a true icon.”

She is still actively designing, collaborating on projects, participating in various campaigns and traveling, Milner says. She is celebrated by the fashion industry for her inimitable style, wit and creativity.

Apfel recently participated in a documentary film about her life called “Iris,” and you may have seen her striking image in a TV commercial recently.

Perhaps one of the keys to her youthfulness is not taking herself too seriously. Her bold signature eye glasses seem to offer a cheeky wink at the world and her wry sense of humour is widely appreciated.

Apfel’s “exuberantly idiosyncratic personal chic” as noted in the 2007 book about her, “Rare Bird of Fashion,” is not limited to the fashion world. She has worked at the White House on design restoration projects for nine American presidents. Her three-bedroom Manhattan apartment was featured in Architectural Digest last fall.

“There’s no roadmap to style,” she says. “It’s about expression and above all attitude.”

When talking about being the star of her self-titled documentary film, Apfel reflected on the fashion industry. “Peo-

Iris Apfel launched her HSN Collection of accessories this spring. P h o t o : L Ar s NIk I/Get t y Im AGes fo r h sN

ple can be their own canvas.

I don’t know why everybody wants to look the same. I find it exceedingly boring. Maybe they feel safe,” she wonders.

She finds that a sense of mystery is absent is today’s world.

“Everything is so cut and dry and grey and same.”

Apfel’s world is full of colour and lively exuberance. “I think the world is very grey and while I’m not a silly billy, I like to have fun. You can have intelligent fun.”

“I don’t expect to find inspiration. It just sort of comes. Sometimes you step on a bug and you get inspired.” We have no difficulty finding inspiration in Apfel, however. She is an inspiration, not specifically to do, but to be – to be alive and resplendent. Apfel jokes that people

give her high marks for still being around, but she wears it well. “I don’t see anything so wrong with a wrinkle. It’s kind of like a badge of honour.”

Apfel is captivating in a world where that’s increasingly hard to do. She has chosen her own path. She’s certainly not made in the mould of anyone else, she’s not a product of some publicity machine. She’s not that ‘regular person.’

She inspires others to follow, to be unafraid of the later years, to live in colour. She has bravely gone ahead to the geriatric frontier. She’s showing the way, and the road ahead looks pretty good.

“You have to try it. You only have one trip. You’ve got to remember that.”

Iris Apfel is proof that style knows no age! Here, Iris Apfel appears in a documentary about her life – “Iris” – a film by Albert Maysles, a KinoSmith release. Photo: B ruce WeB er

At the age of 96, style icon Iris Apfel continues to inspire the adoration of many with her exuberant fashion sense and vivacious lifestyle. Here, Apfel is interviewed at the 2017 CAFA Awards. fILe P hoto/ Ge orGe PI meNteL

resources available for seniors in fight against online scams

by Joseph Wilson

Greg Charyna scored only seven out of 10 on a quiz to spot online scams – and he’s just 52 years old and very adept at technology.

“It does give you pause to think that if people who are savvy with computers can get tripped up, how much harder is it for other folks,” said the co-owner of Saskatoon’s Home Instead Senior Care.

The quiz is offered on www.protectseniorsonline. com, a website Home Instead designed to help seniors recognize and avoid online dangers.

Home Instead Senior Care says its 2016 survey shows three in five seniors in North America have been the target of some sort of online scam.

The website has lots of helpful sections like Top 5 Hottest Senior Cyber Scams and 10 Cybersecurity Best Practices for Older Adults.

Home Instead promotes the website as public service, and Charyna says families can use it as a great discussion tool if they have concerns about a parent or grandparent who is active online.

The company’s survey also shows one in five seniors goes without anti-virus software, which can leave the information in your computer open to those who would use it against you.

Scammers are always looking for an edge to scare or confuse a victim, and with the contact lists in an email account, they can get just the tool they need to make a skilful request for money.

One of the most eye-opening features of the Protect Seniors Online website is the quiz.

The questions demonstrate just how harmless an online interaction can seem.

Whether it involves buying an gift online, or receiving a Facebook message from an old friend, the quiz shows

just how easy it is to get tripped up by a scammer if you are not on high-alert and looking for red flags.

It also shows how quickly technology is changing, with mobile apps asking for your location now part of the digital landscape.

“I think folks are generally, especially that older generation, very trusting,” says Charyna, adding older Canadians want to be above board and keep up with their accounts.

“So if somebody said ‘Hey, your payment didn’t come through… if you just email it to me I’ll take care of it’, it sounds fairly innocuous but, you know, it’s not really the wisest way to go.”

“We know from research that about two-thirds of Canadian seniors have been the victim of at least one common scam or hack, and when you break it down, if somebody has actually sent money or done something like that, then there’s a level of embarrassment or even shame that they got caught doing this, and they don’t want to talk about it.”

But talking about it is exactly what needs to happen, says Nancy Cahill, call centre and intake unit manager with the Canadian AntiFraud Centre.

“We can’t stress enough how important it is to talk about a fraud and to report it,” she said.

Cahill says a 2008 study

by McMaster University shows less than five per cent of victims will report a fraud.

For those that do, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is ready to offer meaningful help.

“We have a senior support unit with more than 50 volunteers, so what they do is take the time to follow up with victims of fraud and are very sensitive to their needs.”

Seniors can have special needs due to cognitive impairments or physical health problems, loneliness or lack of family support.

This secTion was creaTed by conTenT works, PosTmedia’s commercial conTenT sTudio.

The Canadian Antifraud Centre is ready to help them through the incident in the way they need.

“We support them and we follow up with them and make certain they are surfing the web in a safe way.

We explain about clicking on links, pop-ups or any requests for personal information. We educate them on protecting their identity.”

Cahill said romance is a huge area of vulnerability.

“We know that some seniors get lonely and they’ll go online to talk with people,” she said. “We have seen some

seniors go as far as sending hundreds of thousand of dollars to a suspect with the hopes that they’ll meet someday.”

Another type of scam, and one that has touched her own parents, is the ploy asking for money to be sent to claim a huge prize. It may even result in further, costly steps in the process. If it happens to you, talk about it, says Cahill.

She said it’s tragic that people so often don’t report a fraud because they’re ashamed, afraid and embarrassed. But information they

could share may help protect others.

“We’re a repository of the data and information related to online fraud, so law enforcement will reach out to us if they’re investigating. Our database contains so much information

and sometimes that little piece of the puzzle that they’re missing is in our database.”

To learn more, go to: www.protectseniorsonline. com http://www.antifraudcentrecentreantifraude.ca

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Quality of life for seniors

Pen pal program brings seniors, students together

by Carol Todd

At least one half of the participants in an innovative program matching youth with seniors will remember numerous pop songs about letters sent, received or even returned to sender.

The references in those songs, and many treasured memories stored in their original paper form, were written on paper with pen or pencil. Now, a pilot project by the Saskatchewan Senior Mechanism (SSM) has successfully matched young people with seniors in an Intergenerational Penpal Project. Started last fall, the program’s main intent was to help reduce the sense of isolation seniors, especially those in rural areas, can feel.

Saskatchewan has an aging population. According to the 2011 census, almost 15 per cent of the population is age 65 and over. And, that number will only continue to grow

as the post baby-boomers approach retirement age.

SSM states its concern about senior isolation in its newsletter Gray Matters: “The SSM has been initiating projects to reduce isolation in rural Saskatchewan communities.

Isolation of older adults is a huge problem in today’s society. There are many of our seniors who live alone and don’t have a lot of support.”

Initiated by SSM program coordinator Michel Sorensen, the project successfully paired youth with the elderly as pen pals using real mail, not the electronic version. “We’re always tr ying to promote seniors in the community,” she says. And, the pen pal program was a big hit. “It was great for the kids,” she says, and seniors’ comments in Gray Matters, the SSM newsletter, reflect the seniors’ appreciation of the program. “I loved my new friend,” said one, while an-

other said “I didn’t realize how lonely I felt.”

That feeling of loneliness was the key impetus to the project, says Sorensen.

“They really looked forward to these letters,” she says. In addition to bringing people together, the program also had several unexpected positive results. “The letters had to be written long-hand and mailed; no email,” Sorensen says. In addition to getting practise at mailing a letter, Sorenson points out that the students also saw an improvement in their handwriting skills.

The project kicked off last November and ran throughout the winter with 23 Grade 4, 5 and 6 students from Bulyea School paired with 25 Bulyeaarea seniors. It culminated with an intergenerational potluck supper where seniors and students had an opportunity to meet each other face-to-face, often for the first time. “It was really emotional,” Sorensen

Participants in an intergenerational pen pal project get together for a potluck dinner at Bulyea School. Ph o t o s co u rt esy cArLA B etk er

says.

The number of seniors and youth involved, combined with the positive feedback, leads her to believe the project will continue. “We’re going to do

it again,” she says, adding that she’s been hearing from other communities that are interested. In the meantime, she points out that many of the seniors and youngsters continue to

correspond with each other even after the project officially wrapped up.

Sorensen expects the program to not only carry on, perhaps even expand in the future.

New study to examine how seniors are portrayed in the media

by Carol T odd

The late, great Bette Davis had it right when she said: “Old age is no place for sissies.”

Life for seniors can be challenging, as health and other age-related issues become more prevalent as people grow older. A recent report noted that increasing numbers of Canadians will not have the financial means to retire at age 65.

The Broadbent Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank reported that half of Canadian couples between the ages of 55 and 64 have no employer pension and most of those don’t have adequate savings to last more than a year into retirement. That’s bad news for the almost 14 per cent of Saskatchewan’s population that is aged 65 and older and for those who are approaching retirement age. And, while the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code protects against age discrimination, there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence that gray hair can be a turn-off for employers, tightening the financial screws even further.

Whether or not those statistics are a factor, it is obvious that much of the advertising older adults see and hear, and even the news stories, are often geared to young people. In today’s fastpaced world, where everyone is constantly barraged by a stream of advertising, entertainment and pseudo-

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news geared to the buying public, older adults may feel increasingly left out.

Linda Anderson, former board member of Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism (SSM), has taken a break from the boardroom to spearhead a project to examine whether modern media are, in fact, skewed to a young audience. “People are not conscious of it; they can’t swear there is a bias, but there does seem to be one. Our society has become quite youth oriented and it just does not recognize the wisdom, the energy, the experience of older adults,” she says.

SSM has received a PanCanadian grant from New Horizons for Seniors and is working with the Alzheimer Society, the Red Cross, the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit (SPHERU), the Fédération des aînés fransaskois and the Regina Lifelong Learning Centre on a three-year plan for Creating a Culture of Inclusion.

“The whole project is about reducing isolation for older adults,” says Anderson. “If you reduce isolation, we know from studies of various kinds, that older adults do better if they do not feel alone.”

Anderson says the issue of age in the media is a major component of the plan.

“Older adults receive messages conveyed by society in many ways, including the

Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism spearheaded a project earlier this year to examine whether modern media are skewed to a young audience. Get t y Im AGes

news media. These messages reveal societal attitudes that have an effect on how older adults perceive themselves and their value within their communities,” she says.

During the month of February 2017, a group of trained volunteers using common response forms monitored newspapers, television and radio in south and central Saskatchewan.

Data has been gathered about numbers and subjects

and content of stories that were about older adults or about subjects that affect older adults.

The monitors also examined some stories more deeply and made qualitative judgements about whether there were subliminal messages contained in the stories and analyzed the feelings the stories evoke.

During the summer, the data is being collated and analyzed with the help of the

SPHERU. The reports arising from this work will be used to plan ways to reach out to Saskatchewan media and to consider new possibilities in media coverage of older adults. “Hopefully a tendency to approach stories about seniors/older adults from the point of view that seniors are needy, frail and costly can be expanded to seek out the stories of vibrant, knowledgeable, energetic older adults who

are wise assets to society,” Anderson says.

The growing number of seniors in the population know which description is most accurate and while they await the results of the SSM study, they may want to remember another piece of sage advice by the unflappable Ms. Davis: “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” The younger folks might have to Google it.

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Quality of life for seniors remembering when

by darlene polaChiC

At age 65, older adults are twice as likely to be killed or injured by fires than the population at large. By 75, the risk increases to three times that of the general population, and to four times at age 85. These statistics are the impetus behind the Remembering When program that centres around 16 key fire and fall prevention messages for older adults.

In Saskatoon, the program is being taught and promoted by the Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) and the Saskatoon Council on Aging (SCOA).

“We’re being proactive instead of reactive,” says Janet Barnes, a SCOA volunteer who has been serving on the SCOA board for the past six months. “This all came about because of the Age Friendly Consultations that SCOA initiated about six years ago with older adults and various community-based organizations. One result of the consultations was a partnership with the Saskatoon Fire Department.”

Dori Krahn, the SFD’s community relations coordinator, approached SCOA about the feasibility of implementing the Remembering When program put out by the National Fire Protection Association, and last fall, Barnes and Krahn travelled to San Antonio, Texas to take the training.

Remembering When is a comprehensive fire and falls prevention program that targets older adults with the goal of keeping them independent and safely able to

live in their own homes for as long as possible.

“Our mission at SCOA is to support positive aging, and equip older adults in ways that allow them to live healthy, independent lives,” says Barnes who previously worked with the Saskatoon Health Region in health promotion for older adults in the areas of physical activity and falls prevention. “This program,” she says, “was a natural fit for me.”

Together, Barnes and Krahn are committed to creating fire and falls prevention awareness by developing critical partnerships and doing Remembering When presentations and home visits.

The presentations are given to older adults in established groups like SCOA Hub Clubs or in seniors’ condos.

The presentation consists of demonstrations (with props) of eight fire prevention and eight falls prevention messages.

“We can also do home visits where a trained volunteer does a specialized evaluation of the older adult’s home,” Krahn says. “We’ll look at what they’re doing well in both fire safety and falls prevention and offer suggestions about where they need to make changes or adjustments.”

Another large part of the program is appropriately referring people to services they might need such as health support, repairs to make their home safer, or installations that might benefit them.

“We may suggest a pharmacy review or a family doc-

tor visit,” says Barnes, “or safe storage of oxygen tanks, or care of electrical cords.

We’ve even helped people get mobility aids. One person needed shoe lifts after hip surgery.”

The one-hour Remembering When presentation is engaging, fun, and interactive, filled with good information, and presented in a way that is not easily forgotten.

Krahn says it fits very nicely with the Saskatoon Fire Department’s mandate.

“Fire safety is a big thing.

I’ve spent my entire career in safety for older adults,” she says. “One of the things the SFD does is lift assistance.

In 2016, we picked up 732 people who had fallen and couldn’t get up. Falls prevention education means less people falling and less calls for our services.”

In keeping with the Remembering When program, a Safety Style Down the Aisle Fashion Show is being held on June 13 at McClure United Church beginning at 2 p.m.

It’s a fashion show with a difference. Models from the Meri Misfits (Saskatoon Senior Players) will present Remembering When’s 16 safety messages in a fun and memorable way. Barnes and Krahn will commentate the show.

“The fashions are entirely education,” Krahn says. “For instance, to illustrate the first point of falls prevention, exercise regularly, models will parade the catwalk in exercise gear and sensible footwear – except for one model who will be wearing high heels. We will go through the

Dori Krahn holds a coffee can filled with sand, a prop to emphasize the first rule in fire prevention for older adults: If you smoke, smoke outside and dispose of cigarette butts safely.

P h o t o : DAr Le Ne Po L AchIc

safety messages in a fun way.”

Safety Style Down the Aisle is a free event and everyone is welcome.

The fashion show will be repeated on October 4 at

Spotlight on Seniors which takes place at TCU Place.

To learn more about the Remembering When program, visit the National Fire Prevention Association web-

site: www.nfpa.org. To book a free fire and falls prevention demonstration, email Dori Krahn at dori.krahn@ saskatoon.ca or call her at 306-975-7715.

Staying Mentally Alert Do you have trouble staying focused on the task at hand? Have you ever walked into a room, stopped, and couldn’t remember why you went there? Don’t fret, you are not alone. This happens to many people, young and old.

There are many factors that affect mental alertness including fatigue, caffeine and alcohol abuse, diet, information overload and stress. Fatigue, both mental and physical, is the most common problem related to brain function.

Here are some ways to improve mental alertness: 1. Exercise. Exercise releases a chemical in your brain that helps you to be more alert. Taking a walk or standing up and stretching for a few minutes can help you to focus.

2. Stimulate your mind. Challenge your mind by learning something new every day. Sit down and watch an interesting clip on The History Channel, read a new book or do a crossword puzzle.

3. Sleep. Getting the necessary amount of sleep will allow your mind to perform at a higher level.

So if you find you are becoming increasingly forgetful or having difficulty concentrating, bundle up and go for a walk down to your local library and borrow a book to read.

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